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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

MOLLY GOODNIGHT, MOTHER OF THE PANHANDLE

THE DARLING OF THE PLAINS

By Carra Copelin

Mary Ann "Molly"
Dyer Goodnight remains a positive role model for people, young and old. Her
strength and spirit are qualities that have made Texas what it is today for
Texans and the rest of the world.

Molly Goodnight

Molly was
born September 12, 1839, in Madison County, Tennessee to a prominent lawyer,
Joel Henry and Susan Lynch Dyer. When Molly was fourteen, the family moved to
Fort Belknap, Texas, where she worked as a schoolteacher and raised her five
brothers after her parents died.

In the
mid-1860s, she met Charles Goodnight and they married on July 26, 1870 in
Kentucky. They settled in Pueblo, Colorado, where they worked their ranch until
drought and the Panic of 1873 caused the family to move back to Texas. Irish
investor, John George Adair backed Goodnight and the two men became partners,
moving with their wives to the Palo Duro Canyon where they established the vast
JA Ranch in May of 1877.

Goodnight home with buffalo herd

Molly
became the surrogate mother and nurse to the cowboys of the area earning their
respect for her compassion and natural remedies she developed for their wounds
and fevers. She taught a number of them to read and mended their clothes and for
this they nicknamed her "Mother of the Panhandle" or "Darling of
the Plains".

Cowboys on the JA Ranch

She persevered as a ranch
woman, teacher and healer. According to WOMEN IN TEXAS by Ann Fears Crawford
and Crystal Sasse Ragsdale (Eakin Press, 1982), Molly’s home remedies included
“coal-oil for lice, prickly pear for wounds, salt and buffalo tallow for piles,
mud for inflammation and fever and buffalo meat broth for a general
tonic."

Molly and Charles Goodnight

In 1898, Molly and Charles
helped establish Goodnight College through the donation of 340 acres. Molly
passed away in April 1926. Her gravestone is inscribed with a fitting tribute:
"Mary Ann Dyer Goodnight, One who spent her whole life in the service of
others."

Today, visitors can catch a
glimpse of Molly Goodnight's life in various exhibits at the Armstrong County
Museum in Claude, Texas. The museum is also working to restore the Goodnight
Home, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more,
visit: http://armstrongcountymuseum.com .

I chose Molly Goodnight
because she is the epitome of Texas history and its people and she embodies the
spirit of the characters I write about. I'm so glad to be a part of Women's
History Month and Sweethearts of the West.

Carra Copelin, Author

Award winning author Carra Copelin writes contemporary and historical romance. Her current project is The Texas Code series of romantic suspense novels to include CODE OF HONOR, CODE OF CONSCIENCE, CODE OF JUSTICE, CODE OF LAW, and the historical KATIE AND THE IRISH TEXAN, and MATELYN AND THE TEXAS RANGER.

I really enjoyed this bit of history about the Goodnights. It was folks like them that made Texas, and the United States, the success that they have been with codes of honor and strengths of character. If Ms. Copelin writes about these types of people, then I shall, indeed, read her works!

Carra--you chose one of my favorite Texas ladies. She and Charles Goodnight were quite a team, although she thought she'd fallen off the face of the earth when they settled on the ranch down in Palo Duro Canyon. I've also written about Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving, who forged the Goodnight Trail, and also were the inspiration for the two characters in Lonesome Dove. Love it!Your newest release sounds like a good story, and I wish you much luck with it.Thanks for being out guest here on Sweethearts.

What a beautiful, compassionate woman she was. A great tribute to the women in the making of this country. I think the women had a lot to do with making our country strong and a beautiful place to live.

I really enjoyed meeting another amazing woman of the old West. I knew a little about Charles, and Oliver Loving, and the trail, but of course there's always a good woman behind every man, right! Good job.